Aftermath
by XCountrySkiier03
Summary: Just after the movie ends: Pitch did manage to hit Jack with his scythe before Sandy came back. It takes a while for the guardians to notice.
1. Chapter 1

Pitch raised the scythe over his head. He may have failed at gaining the children's unquestioning fear but he could at least gain revenge on the one who had thwarted his success. He watched the pitiful winter child's face morph into fear. He was defenseless, caught off guard. Oh how Pitch loved it.

The stupid Easter Bunny tried in vain to prevent his blow from falling but Pitch Black was in a rage. He had been so close to domination. This one pesky, useless, _nobody_ had ruined his attempts.

Pitch deflected the rabbit's attack with ease. In one more deadly flash the black blade struck down. He was sure he had hit his mark. He had felt the slicing of flesh deaden the weapon's momentum. Pitch could imagine the blood and pain and fear that would come from this one success but before he could relish his only victory he felt the burning coil of a golden whip wrap around his wrist; snake like. It yanked him from his prey-

"Sandy!" Toothina exclaimed as golden light bloomed over the horizon, just like the sun itself.

Bunny paused, looking to Jack. He could have sworn Pitch's blade had made contact with the winter spirit. Jack had jumped back at the last moment but the dagger had fallen so painstakingly close, Bunny was sure-

-but then it was over. Pitch was crumpled on the ground, golden butterflies circling his head mockingly. Jack was smiling and laughing and perfectly fine. The children were safe. They had won.

* * *

Bunny, Sandy, Tooth, and North sat safely inside the carriage while Jack perched on the side wing, waving to the kids. The sleigh took off, the reindeer working furiously to lift the magical sled from the earth. Jack seemed to be the only one not showing true fatigue from the battle. Bunny supposed he was on a high from the utter tsunami of dreams come true. He had believers, friends, a family. Bunny smiled.

"Frost, get down from there before ya bloody fall off. Show pony," Bunny said to Jack who had moved to balance precariously on the back of the sleigh waving to the ant like figures in the distance. The sleigh was ascending quickly.

Jack waved one last time before turning his attention to Bunny. "Aw. The Easter Kangaroo continues to care," He smirked characteristically.

Bunny scowled at Jack who did heed his word and hop down from the back banister. The winter teen was usually well coordinated but instead of catching himself in an impossibly flexible stance, Jack lost his balance. He resorted to falling back into the seat gracelessly. Bunny saw Jack wince. It was unusual, but Bunny shrugged off Jack's disturbed gait. He was just tired. They all were.

"Say that to me again when you're _not_ falling on your ass,"

"Bunny, Shhhhhhh!" Tooth said from her seat bringing her finger to her lips and then pointing furiously to Sandy who was fast asleep across the bleacher like seats of the passenger area.

"Shhh" Jack echoed. The snarky bastard. Bunny just crossed his arms and grumbled to himself his shoulders tensed to exaggerate the demeanor.

As time passed and the silence endured Bunny let his shoulders fall and his arms slacken. In fact, he could feel himself beginning to nod off. It felt like the ride home was taking forever, even with the snow globes. It was a wonder North was even able to stay awake and steer the sleigh.

Sandy had remained asleep while Jack had passed out not long after their exchange. Tooth was still awake but just barely keeping her eyes open.

Bunny could begin to see the sharp cliffs in which the workshop was nestled and pretty soon the sleigh was touching down. Tooth shook her head back and forth a few times to wake herself up while Sandy and Jack both remained slumped across the seats, still fast asleep.

"We are here," North said with a sigh. Jostling the frame of the sleigh quite a bit, North lumbered from the steering perch and onto the snowy ground below where he handed the reigns to one of the yetis who had greeted the incoming vehicle.

"Oy, Sandy, Frost, wake up! We're 'ere," Bunny said, giving both a light nudge. Sandy groggily opened his eyes and stretched his tiny arms over his golden head. Jack however, remained dead asleep. Bunny rolled his eyes.

Tooth and Sandy tiredly made their way out of the sleigh. Why was it his responsibility to wake the newby?

"Frost, we're back at the pole. It's time to wake up." Bunny shook the shoulder of the sleeping winter spirit. His body swayed limply below Bunny's touch. Still nothing.

"Jack?" Bunny said, truly baffled that anyone could stay sleeping despite such stimuli. That was when Bunny realized the wet sensation beneath the pads of his foot. In fact, his whole paw seemed soaked with whatever he was standing in. Bunny took his attention away from Jack to examine the wooden floor panels of the sleigh.

They were covered in blood.

There was no doubt that's what it was. It shown crimson against the cedar boards. But that could not be possible. No one had been hurt in the battle, not enough to warrant this much blood shed. Unless he had been mistaken.

Beginning to panic Bunny knelt in front of Jack who remained slumped slightly forward, the majority of his body weight held by the wall of the sleigh. Jack's upper leg in shadow, tucked against the wooden side panels, was saturated in thick liquid. On the corresponding side, the bottom folds of blue sweat shirt were also soaked in a dark red wash.

"North! We got a problem," Bunny was surprised his voice stayed even. The tone was urgent enough to warn the others but steady enough to remain composed. He _had_ to stay composed.

"What is it Bunny," North and the others had nearly exited the landing stage. It was only Bunny's words that stopped them from entering the warmth they could feel wafting from the lowers of the workshop.

"Jack's hurt," It was an understatement. Not detailed enough to let the others know how serious this really was.

What was he supposed to say? That more of Jack's blood was on the floor than in his veins? That he had _known_ Pitch had hit Jack and just assumed the best, didn't even think to check? That they had been silently idle while Jack bled out? The cold body remained unresponsive in frost of him.

"Bunny, what do you mean?" North said, his accent thick. He was already striding back to the sleigh, worried by Bunny's odd behavior and Jack's unnatural silence.

"There's blood, North. There's a lot of blood. Pitch must've hit him when he had his scythe...right before Sandy.." It didn't matter when it happened, Bunny knew that. The only thing that was important was to stop the bleeding. Why couldn't he bring himself to even _touch_ Jack? Possibly for fear of breaking him further.

"Move," North had climbed into the sleigh, this time with more grace. He gently moved Bunny out of the way to get a better look at Jack. The tall Rabbit numbly let his body be shifted. He winced when North swore harshly under his breath at the copious amount of crimson impregnating the floor boards.

"He won't wake up, North," Bunny said quietly, his voice deep and low.

"What's going on?" Toothina swooped over the sleigh and saw the puddle slowly collecting beneath their winter spirit. She gasped. Sandy was not long after Tooth and had a similar reaction to the scene in front of him.

"Jack. Can you hear me?" North said, moving his steady fingers to rest along the side of Jack's neck.

Bunny held his breath. What would they do if there was no pulse. What if they had lost this person who had suffered 300 years alone and just finally been acknowledged? He would've only known a few hours of being believed in, to finally be regarded.

"Pulse is faint, and very fast," North said after a few seconds of silence. Bunny release the air he had been withholding. Jack was still alive.


	2. Chapter 2

"We must get him to medical bay," North said urgently, standing in preparation to rally the yetis.

Bunny nodded in agreement but froze almost instantly when he heard a groan from the formerly unresponsive body.

"Jack?" Bunny questioned. North immediately knelt back down to Jack's level.

It seemed Bunny had overcome his irrational fear of touching the boy for suddenly he found himself placing a supportive hand on Jack's shoulder. Bunny ducked his head in an attempt to figure if Jack's eyes were opening or if it was just his hopeful imagination.

Painfully and slowly, Jack lifted his head. His eyes _were_ open, and though hazy and unfocussed, he was conscious. This should have been a huge relief but Bunny could not take much comfort from the fact. Not when Jack looked like death. He was so pale and ashen, it was frightening.

"Bunny, North," Jack looked sluggishly between the two. His voice was a low whisper. "What's happening?" North and Bunny exchanged worried looks.

"You're injured, Jack" Bunny said, "Mate, you've lost a lot of blood," The winter spirit furrowed his eyebrows. He looked confused, obtunded. It just wasn't right and it was scaring Bunny more than he would've liked to admit. He could barely take his eyes off of Jack's uncharacteristic, addled expression. He almost missed North's next words.

"Bunny, I must gather supplies and tell yetis to prepare. You must move him to medical bay while I do this. I will meet you there," North reluctantly stood giving one last fleeting look towards Jack before jumping from the sleigh, surprisingly agile for a man his size. Tooth instantly moved to fill the space he had left. Sandy hovered on the edge, looking truly concerned and rather at a loss of how to react.

"Jack, we're going to help you. Everything's going to be okay" Tooth said. Jack turned towards the voice. His face had gone blank, skin grey as the cloudy sky.

Bunny watched his body language. Jack's hand resting just over the bloody sweatshirt clenched, as if he were just gaining feeling of the wetness dripping down his own stomach. Slowly he lifted it from the spot. His face turned down as he dazedly examined his pant leg and sweat shirt. He finally twisted his arm to see it had soaked in red as well.

"Oh," Jack said, expressionless. It was as if he had no feeling, like it was someone else's body losing blood. Surely a normal reaction would be anything but this calm, passive aura. Jack continued to examine the red liquid that ran down his wrist. It appeared to fascinate him.

"We need to get him to medical. Sandy, mate, could you give us a little help?" Sandy nodded, a frown firmly planted across his features.

"Knock im out. We don't want him struggling and making things worse," Not that that was a huge concern, seeing as Jack was so lethargic he could barely lift his own head. Maybe it was just the comfort that at least Jack could dream of something safe and happy. Anything but reality.

Sandy formed a golden ball of sand in his palm and began to approach the winter spirit, silently apologizing, for he knew Jack would not have chosen to be knocked out.

Indeed, the moment Jack spotted Sandy approaching with the ball of sand, his eyes became fearful, protesting.

"Sandy, no, I...argh," Jack groaned, both hands shifting to encompass his stomach. The movements were abnormally slow. His features finally scrunched in pain. It was short lived, however, as his face slackened along with his body. Bunny had to catch Jack as gravity finally made its attempts to pull him to the floor.

"Jack!" Tooth exclaimed. The winter child's full weight was now in Bunny's arms. Jack groaned again.

"Screw it Sandy, We gotta get him outta here," Bunny said, easily shifting Jack bridle style in his arms. The little guardian barely weighed an ounce.

"Careful with him!" Tooth said, hovering around the two as Bunny stood and began to step out of the sleigh, which creaked and swayed beneath his steps.

Bunny nodded, holding Jack a little closer to his body, hoping not to jostle the spirit further. Bunny absently noted the thick liquid beginning to mat his fur. How did Jack even have that much blood in his body to begin with?

Sandy flashed an hourglass over his head. They had to hurry. Hopefully North would have pulled together enough inventory by the time they got there.

With Jack draped across his arms, the tall rabbit moved as quickly as he could on his two back legs, making his way out of sleigh and through the landing hanger. He gave up with this quickly, however, realizing they were not covering the ground fast enough. Bunny tucked their newest guardian even closer to his body, propping the slight figure with just one of his arms. He stooped and continued on three limbs, a much faster option.

Sandy held out his arms in offering, a question mark forming above his head, his features still twisted in concern. He wondered if maybe he should take the injured spirit.

Bunny shook his head firmly. "I got im, mate," Either Tooth or Sandy could have easily carried the winter guardian, probably much more easily than Bunny. He had no idea why he felt the urge to be in custody of the white haired boy. What had gotten into him?

"Bunny, this way is faster," Tooth zipped ahead of him, turning down a side hall off of the landing room. Bunny followed behind as quickly as he could, trying his hardest too keep Jack, especially his bleeding side, from moving too much.

Sandy hovered worriedly in back Bunny. Droplets of blood marked their trail.

It seemed to take forever to get to the medical bay. It was located on the second floor of the workshop. Not the basement where the sleigh was kept, but still a floor below the infamous globe room. There had certainly been occasions where the guardians were frequents to the bay, mostly during the dark ages. Recently, however, there had been little use for it, excluding a few yeti bumps and bruises from toy building accidents.

As they grew closer to medical, commotion began to pick up. Yetis ran back and forth carrying different odds and ends. Finally, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy reached a set of double doors. Beautiful golden letters marked the entrance to the wing. The three able bodied guardians burst into the area though the swinging doors.

"We're here Jack, don't worry, we're going to stitch you up. Right as rain," Bunny muttered to Jack, who was still conscious, though barely.

"Bunny, this way," North said, popping into view. He had ditched his large winter jacket and furry hat. The man was pushing along a metal bed which he rolled forward to greet the incoming party. The mattress was covered in a white sheet.

"Put him down on gurney. Gently," North directed. His features were so serious they could have been set in stone. Bunny panted from the hectic trek and carefully shifted the body in his arms.

It didn't matter how gently Bunny placed Jack upon the medical bed, he still groaned in pain. Jack's body was trembling.

"North, why's he shivering like that," Bunny asked. Jack's lips were an unnatural blue.

"It's cold," Jack mumbled through slightly chattering teeth. The boy's eye lids were beginning to droop. Bunny didn't know how much longer they would keep Jack in the state of consciousness.

"He has lost too much blood. It is shock," North said. "Come, we must get him to operating room."

North was already taking control of the rolling bed and pushing it further down the long clean hallway. Yetis moved to get out of the way, grabbing stray elves from hallway as well. Tooth and Sandy both hovered at Jack's sides. Tooth had grabbed one of Jack's icy hands in her own. Bunny found himself pushed the the back of the group. He didn't like that at all.

Though the medical bay was rather grand, as every room was in the large workshop, it was small. There was only one room lit with bright lights and sterile surroundings. It took them no more than 30 seconds to reach it.

Bunny indignantly shoved his way back to one of Jack's sides once the bed was stationary.

"We must cut his shirt away," North said, grabbing a scalpel and beginning to saw through the material. Jack moaned a bit in protest. Bunny suspected he had been in possession of the sweatshirt for quite some time and would be sore without it.

"Sorry, Frost. We gotta," Bunny said. Tooth still had Jack's hand which she rubbed soothingly. Bunny noticed the fingertips were beginning to turn blue, like frostbite.

After slicing through part of the material, North grabbed the separating sides and pulled, ripping the material apart. Jack wore a white undershirt, which was drenched in deep red. The stain radiated angrily from the epicenter of the source. There as barely any white left.

A few exclamation points burst subconsciously above Sandy's head as the damage became more apparent, not that the utter amount of blood loss wasn't clue enough.

"Shit," Bunny said, already grabbing gauze to cover the wound the minute the layer of white cotton was peeled away from the skin. North did not wait. He immediately tore the thin white fabric apart to reveal Jack's bare chest and torso.

Tooth gasped and accidentally squeezed Jack's hand too tightly. The gash wasn't more than 3 inches long but it was deep. More blood spilled from the area as the white fabric was pulled away, the only protection the wound had had. Jack cried out hoarsely as the wound edges were irritated by the removed fabric. Bunny almost immediately moved to blot the blood and hold down gauze upon the wound.

"Tooth, we need an IV site," North ordered. Tooth nodded, setting Jack's hand down gently. She swooped to the far side of the room and grabbed a sterile pack and needle.

"Sandy, grab that heart monitor would ya?" Bunny said to the little golden man. Bunny would have if he weren't trying to keep the wound covered firmly.

Sandy nodded and rolled the clunky heart machine to Jack's side, unraveling the many wires. "That's good mate," Bunny said as Sandy placed the electrodes on Jack's chest and flipping the small power button. It wasn't long before Jack's heart rate could be heard through the beeping machine.

If the situation was not yet stressful enough, the shrill beeping was sure to make it. Jack's heart was flying. It beat so fast and shallowly that surely it could not be pumping blood efficiently. Bunny gulped and looked to North who was fiddling with a bottle of sterile saline solution.

Tooth had taken one of Jack's arms and was rubbing an area with alcohol. Jack's blood volume was greatly decreased and any fluid being put back into his veins would help their prognosis. Tooth had not inserted an IV in years, but perfection was not something she was exactly looking for. The fairy hastily pricked Jack's arm. His skin was so papery she could practically see the little needle flitting beneath the skin before it pierced one of the deep blue veins that ran down Jacks forearm.

Before Tooth could even ask, Sandy was at her side, a bag of fluid in hand. He hung it and quickly grabbed the loose tubing dangling from Jack's arm.

"Good, Tooth. Now we must clean wound," North motioned for Bunny to lift the now crimson gauze from the site. North took the bottle of saline he had twisted open and poured it over the wound, which washed down Jack's side.

Jack's muscles tightened visibly as he must have been riddled in pain.

"Sandy, knock im out now," Bunny said. Sandy nodded in understanding, sprinkling dust over Jack's eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack was beginning to feel tired. Lightheaded really, and sleepy. The kids were too far away to even see his waving hand so Jack jumped from the back railing of the sleigh and into the cock pit. Expecting to catch himself, Jack landed carelessly, and was surprised when his legs wobbled out from under him, sending him flopping backwards into the wooden bleachers. His torso jolted with pain, causing him to wince instinctively.

_Damn_ he was sore. And clumsy too.

It wasn't any help that Bunny not only noticed, but was giving him shit about it. "_Say that to me again when you're not falling on your ass_,"

Stupid Kangaroo.

Jack took the opportunity of Sandy's sleep and Tooth's chiding to shush Bunny immaturely. It wasn't much but it made him feel a little better about the rabbit's comment. It had made him feel weak, and Jack Frost was certainly anything _but_ that. No sir-ee.

Fortunately, Bunny had taken to pouting, not harassing him further. With that the five guardians were silent. The sleigh ride continued, slowly and gently. There was no rush anymore, no impending doom.

Jack sat in the quiet, something he was quite used to, and therefore, rather comfortable with. He could feel the adrenaline rush of the past few days finally waning. Without that, Jack could start to realize just how beat he was. He couldn't remember ever feeling so listless, so tired and achey. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that he had had no sleep or food in three days accompanied by intermittent battles and emotional roller coasters.

He felt, simply put, drained. That was the best way to describe it. It was just the right word.

Jack closed his eyes in fatigue, letting himself lean heavily against the side wall of the sleigh. He could barely process all that had occurred. He sat there, literally not able to think it through, which was odd. His brain had become too fuzzy to think of anything at all.

Jack didn't mean to but suddenly he was completely asleep. His mind was even too tired to dream. It was just black that enveloped him, taking away space and time. He didn't mind it. He had no idea how long he was out but something pulled him back to a semi aware state. He was hearing things.

_"Frost...at the pole...time to wake up"_

He wanted to ignore the distant voice but it kept prodding his mind invasively. It was a toss up as to which words he could actually put together and comprehend.

_"Got a problem...hurt...a lot of blood.." _

Shit, that didn't sound good. Who was hurt? No one had been injured in the battle had they? Jack couldn't remember. He didn't like this dream, whatever it was. His mind kept going blank. He thought there were people around him, a hand on his shoulder possibly, but he couldn't quite tell. He was still asleep.

Again, everything fell blissfully black, but Jack felt something tugging.

_Wake up, Jack!_

-Not an outside voice, but his own subconscious. He was one to listen to his inner advice. His gut usually never led him astray. He would follow it, if only it wasn't so difficult.

Jack groaned. He cracked his eyes open next, and finally, very slowly, raised his head. He was met by the blurry sight of the guardians.

"Bunny, North, what's happening?" That didn't sound like his voice. It was too cracked, fragile. Bunny tried to explain but he zoned. Why couldn't he focus?

Jack became aware of a wetness leaking from the bottom of his sweatshirt. His investigation slow, Jack lifted his arm to see what could be the cause. The bottom of his sweat shirt, his pants too, were all red. He noted as an after thought, that his sleeve was stained as well.

Someone was hurt. There was a lot of blood. Blood was red. His sweat shirt was _covered_ in red. Connect the dots.

"Oh," Jack said.

* * *

"We gotta get that patched up _now,_" Bunny said. Just the movement of Jack's torso rising and falling with his breaths caused blood to bubble and seep from the open wound.

"You are right, Bunny," North poured the sterile saline into the cut which washed blood and a few black particles of sand away. "How are your sewing skills?"

"What!?" Bunny questioned, knowing exactly the task North was about to have him perform. "Look mate, just because I garden and mother eggs don't mean I'm a certified house wife. I don't sew," Despite his protests, the stitching wire was pushed into both of his paws forcibly.

"Quickly!" North said, urging him on.

"But, I..Sandy! What about Sandy?" Sandy shook his head. He was preoccupied. In Jack's fragile state, keeping him in the perfect limbo of sleep required a constant flow of modified amounts of sand. Just so much to eliminate pain but not enough to risk Jack never waking again. A critical balancing act.

"But, Tooth?"

"Bunny!" Tooth yelled exasperated, as she herself was still fumbling with the IV, making sure it would not drown Jack's blood, but give it enough volume to keep circulating at the same time.

At that moment the heart monitor faltered, or rather Jack's heart did. That was enough to convince Bunny.

"Christ mate, I'm doing it, I'm doing it," Bunny said, almost addressing Jack himself. He bent over the wound and began to delicately sew the skin together. North stood by, continually pouring the saline solution over the wound, keeping it free of blood.

It took 17 stitched to traverse the entire wound. The minute Bunny reached the other side he snipped the wire-like string with a scalpel and covered the patchwork with a square of gauze. The white pad did redden, but it was not soaked. The seemingly never ending stream of blood was finally stemmed.

Bunny let out a sigh. Not of relief- certainly not. They weren't out of the hole yet.

"Is there anyway we could get him a blood transfusion?" Bunny asked, looking at the papery pale skin of the winter spirit. It did not look healthy. If the heart monitor was not still beeping he would have thought Jack dead.

North shook his head. "There would be no matches. We must give him time to heal on his own,"

"Do you think he will?" Tooth asked. Her eyes were brimming with tears. Bunny wished she would stop that.

Sandy paused form his task of keeping the boy asleep to flash a few images above his head. _Of course he will!_ the pictures said. Sandy had faith. He had seen the spark Jack held. There was no way he could be taken out that easy.

North was the next to snap out of the pessimism. "Sandy is right! Jack is guardian now! He is _strong _boy," Tooth blinked the tears out of her eyes and smiled, wiping at her nose.

"Hang on mates, what's this?" Bunny was looking at Jack's chest in concern. The skin was stretched so tightly over his thin frame that many ribs were easily defined. Therefore, it was obvious to see the abnormal lumps protruding from his side.

"His ribs are broken," Bunny said hovering his paw over the bones set askew. There was the beginnings of an angry black and blue blossoming over the area. To say the least, it looked like it hurt.

"How in the hell was this kid still walking," Bunny shook his head in disbelief. At least 4 ribs were completely fractured and who knows how many were cracked. It was lucky none of them had punctured a vital organ.

"Oh, Jack," Tooth said. Sandy was frowning as he looked over the boy. He had not been present for the entire battle, yet he had not expected this much damage. He gave Jack another stream of golden sand, pushing him further away from pain.

"How are we gonna fix this, North?" Bunny asked the large Russian, who was also frowning at the boy's condition.

North did not respond for a moment, thinking. He finally shook his head. "We must not do anything until Jack has time to recover from this wound," North gestured to the gauze pad on Jack's lower abdomen. "We can not risk damaging him further,"

Tooth folded her arms and looked forlornly over the critically injured winter spirit. She felt horrible. They had barely gained his companionship, let alone the right for him to risk his life for their sake. Of course there had been a chance to take when entering the battle against Pitch Black but none of them had thought it through.

They had bribed Jack with the promise of friends and believers, as long as he went to war with them. It seemed cruel to her when she thought back on it. Her eyes welled even more. He had been caught in the crossfire of a battle that was not really his.

"So you just want us ta do nothin?" Bunny asked, becoming agitated as he noticed more dings and bruises scattered across the boy's body. They all had bumps and scratches but it bothered Bunny more to see them on the winter spirit.

"Bunny, what else _can_ we do for him?" Tooth suddenly yelled, finding herself on edge. The tears that had been forming in her eyes drying as anger replaced the sorrow. "If we hadn't interfered with his life to begin with none of this would have even _happened_. He would be fine. We asked too much of him,"

Bunny shrank under Tooth's outburst. It was becoming apparent that nerves were short. They all were exhausted and simply not prepared to handle something like this so soon after their success.

The guardians were silent for a moment, considering Tooth's comment. The boy in front of them so close to death, _could_ have avoided this fate had he been left well alone. But that wasn't the point.

"Aye Tooth, but did you see his face when he was playing with the kids? When they believed? Naw mate, he found his center because of this. An' he has us now cause of it too," Bunny argued, finding the hope in the situation. Typical.

"But Bunny, why did he need to battle for that. Why didn't he have us before?" Tooth pointed out, becoming tearful once more. At that, Bunny's ears fell. That was a question he could not answer.

"That is enough," North said softly. "We are all tired and must find rest,"

Sandy, having been 'silent' for a while finally formed a few images above his head. _Jack will heal_, _but I must stay with him_-they said. He was solemn in his gestures. The sand he supplied to Jack should be under supervision. He would not rest until he knew Jack was alright.

"Sandy, are you sure my friend?" North asked, "You have just returned and are surly still weak," The golden man nodded. Stoney and determined.

"I ain't restin' till he's better either," Bunny said firmly.

"I don't think I could.." Tooth said quietly, her arms folded protectively around her once more.

"I know we all want Jack to recover, but depriving ourselves of sleep will not help him," North insisted. But then he softened at his friends expressions, "I will have yetis bring spare cots into medical for us to stay with Jack.

Bunny nodded curtly, while Tooth gave a weak smile of agreement.

So they would stay by Jack until he awoke. And when he did, they would be there. Like they always should have been.


End file.
